Buckeye Tavern

My family has had many nice meals at the Buckeye Tavern, which shockingly was destroyed in a fire this week.

Still, my best memory about the place occurred elsewhere in the Valley, dating back to the years when they were serving their great Black Diamond Cheesesteak with Mushrooms at Musikfest.

I've done several lists of the best things I've eaten in my Eating My Way Through Musikfest pig-outs, and this always is No. 1, even though the Buckeye hasn't been at Musikfest since 2006. It truly was a special treat.

I actually got in trouble with another vendor when he filled that spot the next year and began serving what he called a Black Diamond Cheesesteak. Let's just say I compared it unfavorably with the Buckeye's sandwich -- and ended up with the owner tracking me down in our Bethlehem office and yelling at me.

We've long since made up. In fact, later that week, he sent me a peace offering of several other items from his stand, which were great. It just was a case of trying to fill really big shoes.

It shouldn't be surprising, then, that I ordered the Black Diamond Cheesesteak every time we visited the Buckeye. It never disappointed me.

My wife and I were watching TV Tuesday night when she saw an alert on her phone about the fire, which made for spectacular photos. I know we weren't the only ones who found ourselves upset to realize the place was gone, so it was good to read that the owner intends to rebuild.